The present invention relates generally to storage of a content in the form of solids, discrete elements, granular materials or liquid. More particularly, the invention relates to a container to protect said content to be stored by adapting a storage volume to the content. Said protection may consist in reducing the remaining storage volume of the container at the closed state and/or moisture transport from or to the content. More particularly, the protection may consist in displacing principally all air remaining in the storage volume. Still more particularly, the invention relates to a box comprising a lid which adaptively adjusts to the contents of the box.
A specific example of a particularly relevant embodiment of the invention is a container for food products such as potato cakes, tortillas or the like, wherein the container among other things prevents these from drying out.
There exists a large number of solutions for the storage of objects in solid form in general and containers that prevent the drying out of food products in particular.
There also exist solutions with an adaptive storage volume.
British Patent Application Publication No. GB 2372732 A discloses a container with adjustable volume. The container for food or beverage comprises a mainly circular base plate with vertical upright walls defining an open chamber, and a lid which is received slidable and sealable in the chamber in a movable manner for varying the size of the chamber to reduce the air space above the contents. The lid comprises a vent hole which can be closed, and a ring gasket.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,338 issued to Miller discloses an adjustable container for storage with a volume that can be adjusted to the size or quantity of articles in the container. The device comprises a base plate having side walls circumferentially defining an interior space. The side walls have a height that can be adjusted to vary the volume of the inner volume. A removable lid is provided to mainly cover the opening into the inner volume.
Certain limitations of the solutions known in the art are as follows.
The solution according to the above cited GB 2372732 A necessitates manual sliding and turning operations to adjust the volume and to close the container. Furthermore it represents a relatively complex solution which is fairly expensive to produce. In addition, the volume is not automatically adjusted to the content.
The solution according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,338 also requires certain actions, where the wall in the box comprises a bellows, to adjust the volume automatically to the content. Furthermore, the disclosed container also requires manual operations in terms of turning and/or pushing.
Solutions known in the art present a number of problems. By resealing the standard packaging that the products are packed in, it is very difficult to remove the air that contributes to the drying out of food products. This is enhanced by the fact that the smaller number of units of food products, the greater the desiccation.
Another problem is that the content is of a relatively dry character that can attract moisture. Thereby, for instance, the crispness of the product may be reduced.
Another problem is that the content of the container may be damaged by moving within the container.